I originally signed up in June 2007, which is relatively early. Sadly, I can't report that my first tweet was especially inspirational:
Using twitter for the first time.
— Stuart Ian Burns (@feelinglistless) June 2, 2007
Though my second does at least have some poetry to it, however nonsensical:
Tapping my fingers.Tapping the keyboard.
— Stuart Ian Burns (@feelinglistless) June 3, 2007
Later that evening I was already spouting untruths:
Having an evening offline.Oh.Almost offline then.
— Stuart Ian Burns (@feelinglistless) June 3, 2007
But within days I had signed up to the tweet by sms service and trying it out:
im out enjoying mr blue sky and reading
— Stuart Ian Burns (@feelinglistless) June 5, 2007
Four days later I was expressing surprise that someone had bother to follow me, though I was clearly still thinking in Facebook terms:
Yeah, Caro's added me as a friend.We haven't spoken in ages.Does she still read my blog?Yeah, Caro. We haven't spoken in ages. Does she still read my blog?
— Stuart Ian Burns (@feelinglistless) June 9, 2007
Seven tweets in and I was making embryonic attempts to use my meagre Twitter followers as a hive mind:
Wonders if anyone reading this has ever ordered a computer through the Dell website. Are they any good?I did buy a Dell in the end, through the websit,e and it worked quite well until it didn't and I went to John Lewis and bought one instead.
— Stuart Ian Burns (@feelinglistless) June 9, 2007
After that boredom set in. This seems to be an in built feature of Twitter and any social media platform. Early adoption, massive enthusiasm and then a realisation that there's no one to talk to yet. Within a week I'd resorted to tweeting inspirational quotes:
"It is only the superficial qualities that last.Man's deeper nature is soon found out." -- Oscar Wilde
— Stuart Ian Burns (@feelinglistless) June 13, 2007
"Ours is essentially a tragic age, so we refuse to take it tragically." -- D H Lawrence
— Stuart Ian Burns (@feelinglistless) June 14, 2007
"When you write straight reporting about the motion-picture business, you're writingsatire." -- Pauline Kael
— Stuart Ian Burns (@feelinglistless) June 16, 2007
And that was it for June. There's only one tweet for July 2007, though it's a pretty momentous one:
stunned by the fan reaction to tonight's Dr Who which he really enjoyed.That reaction was presumably in response to this post at Behind The Sofa and the ensuing comments. I'd post my own review later which is an example of the good old days when such things were readable within a couple of minutes rather than requiring you to set aside a whole evening.
— Stuart Ian Burns (@feelinglistless) July 1, 2007
August is busier, and explains why I was less inclined to post to Twitter. I'd been "on" Facebook since college in 2005/6 and must have been posting status updates there instead of Twitter. In August I installed an app which allowed me to simply post those status updates to Twitter, which ironically is the opposite of what happens now. Then, Facebook forced users to include their name at the front of the update. So:
Stuart is watching a film crew in Sefton Park.
— Stuart Ian Burns (@feelinglistless) August 17, 2007
Stuart is Denny Craine. Sorry, is watching 'Boston Legal'. Sugar.
— Stuart Ian Burns (@feelinglistless) August 17, 2007
Stuart is looking forward to going to Manchester tomorrow. Or today now.
— Stuart Ian Burns (@feelinglistless) August 20, 2007
Stuart is glowing after watching the wonderful French film, 'A Common Thread'.Which is my first tweeted film review. I'd still recommend A Common Thread, which is the Like Water For Chocolate of needlepoint.
— Stuart Ian Burns (@feelinglistless) August 25, 2007
By then I was well into my project to listen to all of the BBC Proms in 2007:
Stuart is listening to Elgar's 'The Apostles'.
— Stuart Ian Burns (@feelinglistless) August 18, 2007
Stuart is contemplating buying a cd of Elgar's 'The Apostles'.
— Stuart Ian Burns (@feelinglistless) August 18, 2007
Stuart is just sobbed through the final movement of Mahler's 3rd Symphony, the old softy.
— Stuart Ian Burns (@feelinglistless) August 22, 2007
Stuart is listening to Holst's The Planets. Because he wants to.
— Stuart Ian Burns (@feelinglistless) August 23, 2007
Stuart is waiting for tonight's Prom. Again.... and so on.
— Stuart Ian Burns (@feelinglistless) August 26, 2007
Facebook cross posting continues through the ensuing months. I won't embed everything, but questions are answered like why I've never watched Tru Calling despite adoring Eliza Dushku:
Stuart is wondering if he should bother watching any more 'Tru Calling' having been unimpressed by the first two episodes.
— Stuart Ian Burns (@feelinglistless) September 18, 2007
Stuart is skipping the rest of 'Tru Calling'. Life's too short.(if only I'd had that opinion of Lost early on)
— Stuart Ian Burns (@feelinglistless) September 18, 2007
What my first breakfast tweet was:
Stuart is addicted to wheetabix.
— Stuart Ian Burns (@feelinglistless) September 27, 2007
Whether much has changed:
Stuart is drifting.(it hasn't)
— Stuart Ian Burns (@feelinglistless) October 27, 2007
Even they grew rarer. In November there are just seven tweets and in December and January three each, mostly Christmas greetings and moans about the weather. Then in February and March, none at all. There's a single Tweet in April.
Stuart wonders if you can get arrested for writing uninteresting things on your blog.Again, not much has changed.
— Stuart Ian Burns (@feelinglistless) April 11, 2008
May has the same tweet twice:
Stuart disappointed to see there are no friends online to chat to. Typical.
— Stuart Ian Burns (@feelinglistless) May 30, 2008
June's busier. Seven tweets. More irony:
Stuart is signing up to Bebo. Heretic.
— Stuart Ian Burns (@feelinglistless) June 7, 2008
Stuart is back after Bebo turned out to be pants.Though it took me three days to realise. Last time I was near Bebo it had a Facebook sign in. Oh the humanity.
— Stuart Ian Burns (@feelinglistless) June 10, 2008
July 2008 has four. Complaints about the second series of Heroes being rubbish, about "sweating visibly" which is a moan about being ill wrapped in a Beckett paraphrase and ...
Stuart hates taxi politics. "But it's my taxi." "No I saw it first..." ad infinitum.The story of which I remember. We'd been waiting with fish and chips on Lark Lane for a taxi and a group of students appeared. I moved up the road to give myself more of a chance, but Dad stayed where we was. A taxi arrived which I took to pick him up, then ended up in argument with the students because we'd "stolen" their "ride". This doesn't, I appreciate improve the interestingness of this tweet (and probably lessens it), but I'm amazed at how vividly I remember what happened.
— Stuart Ian Burns (@feelinglistless) July 4, 2008
Then, in August 2008, the tweets went native and increased in frequency exponentially because in August 2008 I downloaded Tweetdeck for the first time and realised what Twitter was for.
Next time: My first reply. Isn't that exciting?
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